Le Jardin Retrouve Le Citron Poivre: Perfume Review

All summer long I've been in a mood for "scents whose spiciness is fresh or whose freshness has a dark and piquant depth". That mood lasted well into this beautiful autumn, possibly because the weather here in NYC has been mostly spoiling us with clear skies and mild warmth. Le Citron Poivré by Le Jardin Retrouvé is my latest discovery in the fresh-&-piquant genre. The contrast of the citrusy and spicy accords is rendered here with a light, judicious hand, neither side is overwhelming the other. The clear, dry, verdant, mouthwatering and tangy blend of citron and petit grain is perhaps somewhat more dominant in the composition than the mix of spices, but the latter is also evident at all times, practically from the first second of the perfume's life on my skin. Simple as the idea and the execution is, the complex piquant accord does gives the fragrance an additional, intriguing dimensions. Sometimes pepper jumps out from the mix to tickle the nose of the wearer, a moment the warmer spiciness of cloves and cinnamon that becomes more apparent, and -the part I enjoy the most- once in a while pimento takes the lead. What I like about this scent is that it is neutral enough to let one go about one's own business, without taking attention away from one's day making it an ideal chilled-out, relaxing, weekend perfume. The presence of spices, however, adds a snappy twist to the composition; during the course of the day, I keep getting unexpected whiffs of pimento and cloves and wondering what is that interesting, zippy fragrance I am wearing. The fairly dry, non-frilly nature of Le Citron Poivré makes it a great shared fragrance, and being able to wear the same scent as your significant other, just like wearing his shirt around the house, has a certain smug, loved-up charm. Le Citron Poivré is available at lejardinretrouve.com. There you can also request any three samples for a shipping fee of €2. Images by Rankin, Le Jardin Retrouvé.

Fraîche & Easy

Last summer practically forced me to wear citrus scents. Ever since, my taste has been gradually becoming fresher and fresher. I learned to appreciate clean, fresh perfumes for three reasons: a) the noli me tangere quality, the icy, poker-faced feeling that they lend me; b) the cooling effect in the heat; and c) the easy, relaxing comfort that they provide. A good fresh scent to me is an olfactory equivalent of a good chillout tune. A no-brainer, calming sound/smell in the background. And if that seems like I am damning the genre with faint praise, I am not: being able to make to one's life easier without being obvious about it is a great quality in a perfume. Or indeed in a person. This summer my fresh scent wardrobe (already including L'Eau de L'Hermine, Vanille Galante, Puredistance, Lotus Blossom & Water Lily, Eau de Fleur Magnolia and Cristalle) benefited from the discovery of the following: Cristalle Eau Verte by Chanel. Sweeter, more floral, in no way a chypre and significantly softer and gentler than actual Cristalle, this is basically...a different scent entirely. Please, don't look in it for a variation on Cristalle that will still be recognisable as the classic favorite. Taken on its own merit, however, it is a lovely, harmonious, incredibly easy-to-wear citrus fragrance with a pretty magnolia note in the heart. The citruses in the top are slightly sugary, with a floral accent added by neroli; the heart enhances the floralcy with jasmine, honeysuckle and the aforementioned magnolia; and there is something dry and green in the base that lasts, discreetly, all day, long after the citrus sparkle is gone, and adds some of that hard, brisk Chanel-y edge to the overall very easy-going composition. Elegant, versatile, youthful...as much of a little white dress (a summer must-have) as the original Cristalle. Only, while the latter I imagine as a somewhat haughty shift dress, Eau Verte is, perhaps, more of an egalitarian and more flirty baby-doll. (Bergdorf Goodman, $105.00 for 3.4oz.) Eau Divine by Divine offers the dry, spicy freshness that I love in summer. Anise, ginger and nutmeg add an interesting twist to what could have been a rather ordinary unisex blend. I also love the unexpected presence of violet in the heart. The slightly powdery solidity of the note adds body to the fairly transparent mix and a certain retro feel. It smells "French" and a little old-fashioned to me. It should come in a huge retro splash bottle (oh, wait, it does!) and a tome of Bonjour Tristesse, because the Sagan's France is where Eau Divine takes me. And that is one of my favorite places. (Divine.fr, 50€-145€) Cote d'Amour by L'Artisan Parfumeur inhabits approximately the same territory, but very now. Celine Ellena's characteristically gauzy and modern composition is the smell of skin heated by the sun, salty from the sea, with a saline, weedy undertone that seems to stick to one after a day on the beach. In that respect, I find this quiet, chilled out scent quite sexy. With its spa-like, herbal ambiance, in reminds me a lot of L'Eau de Jatamansi, however, Côte d'Amour has much less of that "I am natural and choke-full of the ingredients that are good for you" feel that I resented in Jatamansi, although there is still some in the blend of immortelle, rosemary and pine...still, when I am in Côte d'Amour, I am not aware of wearing an ORGANIC blend, but of wearing a perfume. A very non-perfumey one, but still. (Luckyscent, $155.00 for 8.4oz) Bigarade Concentree by Editions de Parfums. There are perfumes with an animalic undertone. Jean-Claude Ellena's citrus masterpiece smells...human. I can't describe it in any other way. Few citrus scents easily blend with the wearer's skin. They tend to sit on top, sparkling as if in a myriad of tiny unmeltable crystals. Bigarade Concentree melts into the skin. A friend with a very keen nose suspects that there might be some cumin, and I agree. Nothing humanizes a perfume like that warm, dirty spice. Put too much of it, and -voila!- the scent is animalic. Clearly, only a touch (might have) been added to the bitter orange overdose of Bigarade C. It also might be hay, with its strangely fleshy aroma. In any case, a unique take on citrus that I couldn't get enough of this summer. Men should be forced to wear this, as the perfume smells even more human on them. (Barneys, $85.00-$200.00) Eau des Lagons by Comptoir sud Pacifique is another scent to be shared with a male. It is, perhaps, more unisex that any of the scents described here; read: it is rather masculine. Like Côte d'Amour, it manages to be evocative of the sea without smelling too obviously aquatic. Unlike the quietly languid Côte d'Amour, Eau des Lagons is brisk. I would even call it sharp, but in a good way. It is a wake up scent, a "I need to be alert at work" scent. A friendly sort of slap on a cheek that would prevent one from nodding off in the heat and the boredom. The beginning of the scent is momentarily fruity; immediately, the sweetness disappears, and it becomes all about rind, zest, sap, salt, driftwood and very white musk after that. I see Eau des Lagons as transparent white. Pure, almost sterile white...If you need a politically correct, but not boring office scent, this is the one. (Comptoirsudpacifique.us, $85.00 for 3.3oz) What are your fresh perfume favorites? Do share. If you would like to be in a draw for samples of Eau Divine, Cote d'Amour and Eau des Lagons, please say so in your comment. The winner will be announced on Friday. Image credits, Numero, Miles Aldrgidge.

Boadicea Pure and Benefit Laugh with Me Lee Lee

These days, I am consistently finding myself being drawn to fresher fragrances. Only a year or so ago, my favorite scent in any line invariably would have been the darkest, the leather-iest, the skankiest. These days, when presented with a collection of perfumes, I often choose the freshest one as my favorite. I scare myself. The other day I tried Boadicea the Victorious perfumes, and I liked neither Intense, nor Seductive, Complex or Exotic, but Pure. Pure! The clean, comforting non-smell of a white t-shirt...I was attracted by the almost aldehydic and understated sparkle of the citrus top notes, by the way basil and juniper tempered the would-be robustness and sweetness of the base of sandalwood, patchouli and vanilla. There was an easy grace about Pure, something a little bit child-like...It was the comfort of the familiar, of the neutral...the calming, soft energy of the color white. Similarly, in the new collection of scents by Benefit, inspired by the Royal Crescent in Bath (and oh the presentation! the 10 year old girl in me squeeled in delight), I surprised myself by enjoying Laugh with Me Lee Lee the most, the girly blend of blackcurrant, melon, violet, lily and amber. Seemingly uncomlicated, it is in fact rather cleverly built on a contrast of the fresh (melon, lily) and sweetly-fluffy (violet, amber). After starting fruity-green, almost a little watery, the scent becomes more substantial, more fleshy, with the violet note revealing surprising and appealing creaminess. Paired with something that I can't help but interpret as minty, violet here has the same warm-cold quality as its counterpart in Aimez-Moi. In fact, I am tempted to call Laugh with Me Lee Lee something of Aimez-Moi Light, Fraiche or Summer. Boadicea the Victorious perfumes are right now available at Harrods and are soon coming to Luckyscent. The Crescent Row trio will be available in Sephora, Macy, etc in July. Have your tastes undergone a striking change as of late? Do share!

On the Lighter Side

By Tom Nasomatto China White, Isotta Fraschini Profumo Uomo and L'Artisan L'Ete en Douce First off, I want to thank all of you for wishing me a happy birthday in this blog last week, I was truly touched, and it made turning 137 years old a lot easier. I thank you all! What did not make it easier was the fact that it was about 137 degrees in the city of the lost Angels this weekend. I know, climate change is supposed to be bu*l**it, but I don't remember it being so hot so early or so often. Or perhaps my advancing age makes me kvetchier. Naaaahhhh. So, this means that I decided to drop into ScentBar (blissfully air-conditioned and always congenially staffed) to test out a few new things. China White is new from Nasomatto, who is very tiresome about listing ingredients. My first sniff reminds me of an ashtray, of recently extinguished cigarettes. I mean that in the best way, mind you- there's a delicious decadence to its opening that's quite wonderful. I wasn't overwhelmed with what came later, a delicate, powdery floral with only an undertone of the ashtray opening, It's interesting, like all of the Nasomatto line, but like those scents didn't quite entice me to purchase. Isotta Fraschini was there also. Isotta Fraschini was an automobile company in Italy from the 20's to the 40's which specialised in deluxe automobiles. In real life Valentino and Clara Bow owned them, in the movie "Sunset Blvd", batty Norma Desmond is chauffeured around Los Angeles in one. Naming a cologne after a company whose most famous (arguably) cultural reference is as a leopard upholstered punch line seems silly, but at least it's not Hummer, right? Actually the cologne itself is quite pleasant. It's a very smooth mix of tonka, woods, spices and anise-tinged musk, none of which would have the bad taste to actually stand out. It has that "I've smelled this before" quality to it that, were I in a more charitable mood (or in heavy AC) I might refer to as "timeless" instead of "derivative". It seems like part of a spec sheet on gracious living and in it's zest to be completely unassuming, grated. L'Ete en Douce was a 180 degree turn however. Minted orange blossoms and airy hay notes are light as a feather and refreshing as spring rain, while the gently woody and musky drydown manage a feat that I find L'Artisan scents usually do either/or but not both: be ethereal and long-lasting. Completely full-bottle worthy for me and perhaps immediately necessary in my life, this was of the three the one that seemed to me most worthy of it's price. L'Ete en Douce is $135 for 100ml, at Luckyscent, Barney's and L'Artisan Boutiques. Isotta Frachini is $145 for 100ML at Luckyscent. China White is $148 at Luckyscent and Barneys